real estate

Home sales declined 23% across Northern BC in 2022

Jan 10, 2023 | 3:30 PM

PRINCE GEORGE — The BC Northern Real Estate Board (BCNREB) says that home sales declined 23% across Northern BC compared to 2021.

In total, there were 5001 reported property sales in Northern BC in 2022, worth $2 billion dollars, down from 2021’s reported sales number of 6669, worth $2.4 billion.

For Prince George, 1323 properties were sold in 2022, worth $605.9 million, compared to 1653 properties sold in 2021, worth $684.1 million.

The BCNREB says that active listings at the start of 2022 were at a record low, and grew throughout the year. With rapidly rising interest rates, there was an abrupt shift in market conditions, which resulted in the softening of prices from peak levels achieved in early 2022.

The board says that mortgage rates are likely to remain elevated, meaning that housing market activity across the North will remain slow for 2023. The BCREA is forecasting that home sales will decline 9% in 2023, and that slower sales and rising inventory will precipitate a slight decline in home prices, with the average price in the region slipping about 1% over the next year.